Post by DM-Chris on Feb 5, 2007 17:08:24 GMT -5
I've done this a few times, and it continually changes, but here it is in this most recent version, the first post on this site in months:
* Long ago, obscured in the past, a race (Yuan-ti maybe) enslaved "men" around the world.
* The masters were adept with magic, and flourished through its use, building empires
* The masters warred with one another constantly; the slaves always suffered the worst, completely denied the use of magic
* A demon came to one of the master warlords, and offered him a way to build a destructive artifact that would end the wars in his favor
* The artifact was used the day it was completed
* To the laughter of the demon, the power-hungry warlord's nation was decimated by a pillar of dark energy errupting from the ground.
* A massive pit still remains where the nation once existed. It is overrun by a horde of seething undead who mindlessly roam its ruins.
* Meanwhile, in the Cosmos, the explosion attracted the attention of two supreme beings; Bahamut the Platinum, and Tiamat the Shadow
* Bahamut arrived first, and sealed the demon in a magical prison. When Tiamat arrived, she sought to free the demon, and attacked Bahamut for a chance to do so.
* The two divine dragons battled in the sky above Emilin, a battle so fierce that they destroyed one another's physical forms, causing a maelstrom of energy to form
* The remains of their bodies plummeted to the ground like a magical meteor storm
* From the craters where the meteors struck, full-grown dragons emerged
* Confused and alive for the first time on Emilin, the dragons began migrating across the world, looking for dragons of the same kin
* Many dragons of the metallic and chromatic families fought each other during this time, and many dragons were killed
* The masters and slaves watched in awe and terror as dragons battled in the sky over their heads
* As dragons began to find one another in their preferred climates and terrains, they began noticing the other creatures on Emilin around them
* The metallics wanted to free the slaves, and end their suffering. The chromatics wanted to overthrow the masters, and take the slaves for themselves. The gems, a unique blend of Bahamut and Tiamat's energy, were only interested in the world of Emilin itself.
Edit: Continuing the timeline, I realized I'm being too detailed in each of these little bullets. I just need to finish planning major events so I can see how it all fits together and if I can make it make sense. So, without further ado...
* In a couple years, the Masters are killed or driven underground
* This ushers in an era of peace and construction for the new civilizations that lasts nearly 100 years
* during this peace, humans in different regions begin experiencing subtle, phsyiological changes due to their exposure to and use of magic, something they've never had before
* Kingdoms are built, religions are established, and the metallic dragons establish an official council
* the Gem dragons continue their study of Emilin
* The age of exploration and expansion begins; the metallics are alarmed by how fast humans breed and expand
* Kingdoms encounter one another and establish raport
* Tensions flare between metallic dragons and chromatics
* Wilderness areas become more dangerous as the chromatics and their minions become more active
* Battles begin happening between different metallic and chromatic groups
* Alliances begin to form
* The metallics' followers wish to remove chromatics from Emilin through warfare
* The metallics know better, but agree something must be done
* Small territorial wars begin around the globe between Metallic and Chromatic kingdoms
* As allies intervene, its obvious to all involved it's a full-scale war for territory
* Human dragon slayers appear during the war
* The dragon war lasts for 50 years
* The majority of the chromatics are driven back to their strongholds, and a treaty is signed to officially end the war
* The chromatics want revenge, but withdraw, admitting their defeat
* Many wild and dangerous locations are still unexplored, and Emilin is at peace again
* The peace is tense, and countless lives of humans and dragons were lost in the war; this is not forgotten as reconstruction begins
* A new age of exploration begins, and many dragons tire of human's affairs, sickened by how few dragon kin remain
* The dragon council is dissolved and many dragons withdraw from human civilizations
* Dragons decide its their time, and go on journeys of self-discovery, treasure hoarding, or they assimilate into their favorite culture, shapeshifted as humans
And that's it. That brings us up to modern day and sets the stage for the PCs to enter. The world has been torn asunder several times. For humans, their very existence was horrible under the enslavement of the Masters. Then there was the Demon who blew a huge hole in the earth and swallowed an entire nation. Then there was the destructive meteor shower which pummeled Emilin. Then there was the attempted genocide of the Masters. Then there were the dragon wars. The world has layers and layers of ruins and destroyed lands.
However, for the children of the Metallics, there is finally hope. For the children of the chromatics, the changes they undergo turn the humans into different kinds of beastmen. Under the guidance of the Blues, the men in the far eastern desert become gnolls. The forest dwellers corrupted by green dragons become orcs. The mountain men of the north become trolls, altered by the hatred of white dragons. The black dragons take no children, and instead become fascinated with necromancy and the massive pit where the undead horde still roams. The Reds make their lairs in the uninhabited chain of volcanoes in the southeast part of the main land, and have a large labor pool of slaves and soldiers taken from species all across the world. The Reds occupy themselves with civil war, constantly battling and thwarting one another.
None of the chromatics is very good at ruling their children, and many of the more intelligent beastmen begin migrating west and north. They do not wish to be readily accepted by the children of the Metallics, but hope they can be left to their own devices. In the frozen north, at the end of a river, a very wise and charismatic bugbear establishes the city of Frozen Tor atop a hill (hence the name). This city is looked on with great suspicion by the children of the Metallics, but is tolerated so long as they keep to themselves. It isn't long before the seedier characters in other human societies find their way to Frozen Tor where the laws (or lack thereof) are much more conducive to a life of crime.
These are all modern things going on when the players enter the world. There's a kingdom south of the Webwood called Magreb. This is a mish-mashed nation of humans who chose not to follow the dragons out of fear and suspicion. They were free and wanted to be their own masters. They were able to teach themselves magic so as not to fall too far behind the rest of the world in knowledge and technology. Their kingdom is still threatened by many enemies on their borders and suffers attacks from the orcs to the north, who come out of Webwood.
Ok, now I'm getting into specific region history, which needs to go somewhere else. I'm done here with general history. If there was any one post on this site where you felt inspired to leave feedback or criticisms, I would ask that this be it. This is the "core" of my campaign and will allow me to add the details for the rest of the world. Thanks.
* Long ago, obscured in the past, a race (Yuan-ti maybe) enslaved "men" around the world.
* The masters were adept with magic, and flourished through its use, building empires
* The masters warred with one another constantly; the slaves always suffered the worst, completely denied the use of magic
* A demon came to one of the master warlords, and offered him a way to build a destructive artifact that would end the wars in his favor
* The artifact was used the day it was completed
* To the laughter of the demon, the power-hungry warlord's nation was decimated by a pillar of dark energy errupting from the ground.
* A massive pit still remains where the nation once existed. It is overrun by a horde of seething undead who mindlessly roam its ruins.
* Meanwhile, in the Cosmos, the explosion attracted the attention of two supreme beings; Bahamut the Platinum, and Tiamat the Shadow
* Bahamut arrived first, and sealed the demon in a magical prison. When Tiamat arrived, she sought to free the demon, and attacked Bahamut for a chance to do so.
* The two divine dragons battled in the sky above Emilin, a battle so fierce that they destroyed one another's physical forms, causing a maelstrom of energy to form
* The remains of their bodies plummeted to the ground like a magical meteor storm
* From the craters where the meteors struck, full-grown dragons emerged
* Confused and alive for the first time on Emilin, the dragons began migrating across the world, looking for dragons of the same kin
* Many dragons of the metallic and chromatic families fought each other during this time, and many dragons were killed
* The masters and slaves watched in awe and terror as dragons battled in the sky over their heads
* As dragons began to find one another in their preferred climates and terrains, they began noticing the other creatures on Emilin around them
* The metallics wanted to free the slaves, and end their suffering. The chromatics wanted to overthrow the masters, and take the slaves for themselves. The gems, a unique blend of Bahamut and Tiamat's energy, were only interested in the world of Emilin itself.
Edit: Continuing the timeline, I realized I'm being too detailed in each of these little bullets. I just need to finish planning major events so I can see how it all fits together and if I can make it make sense. So, without further ado...
* In a couple years, the Masters are killed or driven underground
* This ushers in an era of peace and construction for the new civilizations that lasts nearly 100 years
* during this peace, humans in different regions begin experiencing subtle, phsyiological changes due to their exposure to and use of magic, something they've never had before
* Kingdoms are built, religions are established, and the metallic dragons establish an official council
* the Gem dragons continue their study of Emilin
* The age of exploration and expansion begins; the metallics are alarmed by how fast humans breed and expand
* Kingdoms encounter one another and establish raport
* Tensions flare between metallic dragons and chromatics
* Wilderness areas become more dangerous as the chromatics and their minions become more active
* Battles begin happening between different metallic and chromatic groups
* Alliances begin to form
* The metallics' followers wish to remove chromatics from Emilin through warfare
* The metallics know better, but agree something must be done
* Small territorial wars begin around the globe between Metallic and Chromatic kingdoms
* As allies intervene, its obvious to all involved it's a full-scale war for territory
* Human dragon slayers appear during the war
* The dragon war lasts for 50 years
* The majority of the chromatics are driven back to their strongholds, and a treaty is signed to officially end the war
* The chromatics want revenge, but withdraw, admitting their defeat
* Many wild and dangerous locations are still unexplored, and Emilin is at peace again
* The peace is tense, and countless lives of humans and dragons were lost in the war; this is not forgotten as reconstruction begins
* A new age of exploration begins, and many dragons tire of human's affairs, sickened by how few dragon kin remain
* The dragon council is dissolved and many dragons withdraw from human civilizations
* Dragons decide its their time, and go on journeys of self-discovery, treasure hoarding, or they assimilate into their favorite culture, shapeshifted as humans
And that's it. That brings us up to modern day and sets the stage for the PCs to enter. The world has been torn asunder several times. For humans, their very existence was horrible under the enslavement of the Masters. Then there was the Demon who blew a huge hole in the earth and swallowed an entire nation. Then there was the destructive meteor shower which pummeled Emilin. Then there was the attempted genocide of the Masters. Then there were the dragon wars. The world has layers and layers of ruins and destroyed lands.
However, for the children of the Metallics, there is finally hope. For the children of the chromatics, the changes they undergo turn the humans into different kinds of beastmen. Under the guidance of the Blues, the men in the far eastern desert become gnolls. The forest dwellers corrupted by green dragons become orcs. The mountain men of the north become trolls, altered by the hatred of white dragons. The black dragons take no children, and instead become fascinated with necromancy and the massive pit where the undead horde still roams. The Reds make their lairs in the uninhabited chain of volcanoes in the southeast part of the main land, and have a large labor pool of slaves and soldiers taken from species all across the world. The Reds occupy themselves with civil war, constantly battling and thwarting one another.
None of the chromatics is very good at ruling their children, and many of the more intelligent beastmen begin migrating west and north. They do not wish to be readily accepted by the children of the Metallics, but hope they can be left to their own devices. In the frozen north, at the end of a river, a very wise and charismatic bugbear establishes the city of Frozen Tor atop a hill (hence the name). This city is looked on with great suspicion by the children of the Metallics, but is tolerated so long as they keep to themselves. It isn't long before the seedier characters in other human societies find their way to Frozen Tor where the laws (or lack thereof) are much more conducive to a life of crime.
These are all modern things going on when the players enter the world. There's a kingdom south of the Webwood called Magreb. This is a mish-mashed nation of humans who chose not to follow the dragons out of fear and suspicion. They were free and wanted to be their own masters. They were able to teach themselves magic so as not to fall too far behind the rest of the world in knowledge and technology. Their kingdom is still threatened by many enemies on their borders and suffers attacks from the orcs to the north, who come out of Webwood.
Ok, now I'm getting into specific region history, which needs to go somewhere else. I'm done here with general history. If there was any one post on this site where you felt inspired to leave feedback or criticisms, I would ask that this be it. This is the "core" of my campaign and will allow me to add the details for the rest of the world. Thanks.
